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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25806748">The Cruelest Intentions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrassyOrchards/pseuds/GrassyOrchards'>GrassyOrchards</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Evil Within (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Ruvik POV, Ruvik is also traumatized, Ruvik vibes with being bitter and angry, Sadistic Tendencies, Sebastian has PTSD, Takes place in STEM, lots of repression on all sides as usual, pretty much just a canon synopsis with some Sebastian fixation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:07:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25806748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrassyOrchards/pseuds/GrassyOrchards</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>STEM wasn't ready yet. He had yet to perfect it. He was so close, teetering on the precipice of a true trial run. Then Jeminez had to interfere, to dig his filthy hands in where they didn't belong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sebastian Castellanos/Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Cruelest Intentions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is styled a bit differently to my normal stuff, it was supposed to be like 600 words long but I can't control myself.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>STEM wasn't ready yet. He had yet to perfect it. He was so close, teetering on the precipice of a true trial run. Then Jeminez had to interfere, to dig his filthy hands in where they didn't belong. To use him as a subject in his own experiments, and rush them along. It was a bastardization of what he wanted. An utterly disgraceful display of what could have been.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was pathetic what they turned him into in those short hours(days?weeks?months?) Reduced to a fearful mess, agony taking hold of him, burning and pulling at his every nerve until he was forced to reside within the only piece of him they left. His mind. He reminded himself of his own subjects, crying and whimpering under his scalpel. But he would not outwardly cry, he would not whimper. They saw the fear in his eyes, the pain, but he would not crumble as far as they wanted him to. If they were to stack his own cards against him then he was going to come out the other side with a royal flush. The pain they subjected his body to was nothing in comparison to the ill intentions that blossomed. He liked hurting people, he always had, but it was always with purpose. But now he wanted to hurt for the sake of it. To glide a thousand cuts over Jiminez's body and pour hot oil over him. Watch his body bubble and boil and bleed, for a start. His lip twitches into a half hearted smile as he gets to work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hadn't intended on making a hellscape, not really. But stuck with only his rage and memories, the bitterness bled into everything. Empty bloodied hallways, abandoned hospital wings, coils of barbed wire strewn over doors, dark musty tunnels and living walls of flesh. By the time his anger subsided into rational thinking it was too late, STEM had taken root in his subconscious and sprouted into something wretched. It was ugly, it was vile, and he couldn't be bothered to make it more hospitable for himself or his unwelcome guests. Even his own image reflected the landscape, scarred and disfigured beyond recognition. His robe stained and burnt and hardly even hinting at white. He could be anything here, anyone, and yet he still took the form of a long dead entity. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The burning rage subsides, and falls into a hum of bitterness that leaves sticky black footprints. His world crumbles further, and he learns to enjoy it. The enjoyment only increases when he is given subjects. Their appearance begins as an annoyance, but soon he finds the new playing field to be rather intriguing. Some crumbled to his will by simply entering his world, falling to their knees and screaming until their eyes bubble over and tar falls from quaking lips. The more fun ones were a challenge, a hard exterior he would have to force open and shatter. Destroy from the inside out. Show them the things that scarred them, whisper words that break them, pit them against monsters that will tear them apart. The methods hardly mattered, they all fell the same eventually.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They became his. His people, his monsters, synonyms in his mind. Pit them against each other and watch what breaks first, the human psyche or the body. The monsters he create start simple, experiments gone wrong, manifestations of his rage, his trauma, subconscious and conscious blending to create terrible creatures-And once he begins he can't stop. Like the initial formation of the landscape they began to take form on their own. Despite this they are still distinctly his. Subconscious or unconsciously in origin they bore the same creator and he would lay claim to all that dare step foot in his path. STEM, and all that was within it was his.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The only creature he crafts utterly from scratch is his beloved Laura. She deserved better than to have the base of some deprived lost mind, she was original, and enough of her lived inside him that he would bring her to life again. He remembers her so vividly, a picture perfect image in his head. He hears her laughter, feels her gentle touch, remembers her encouragement and love overcoming him. How utterly good she was to someone as utterly flawed as him. What he brings to fruition is deprived of all she had been. A monster like the others, long black hair knotted and tainted with blood and filth. Her skin bubbling open and raw, bleeding out onto the floor. She is hardly humanoid, deformed with four huge twisted arms ending in long piercing nails. Her body is incorrect and quadruped, human bones shoved inside something inherently inhuman. Her pelvis snaps and clicks when she moves, broken and unable to support her legs that jut out to the sides like a lizard. She screams and cries, wails at the top of her lungs and it is achingly familiar. Sounds tied together by barbed wire in a burning barn. She is all he wanted back yet he cannot bear to look at her, the monster that she had become within him. His beloved pure sister, corrupted with himself. A phantom.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His enjoyment is temporarily stunted, until new subjects come busting in. A ragtag group of cops, a loon, and a man he wanted very badly to make suffer. They seem to be the only ones able to put up a proper fight. Jiminez survives off of cowardice and cunning, running, hiding, always fleeing. The loon is familiar, and Ruvik wants to preserve him until he was perfect for harvest. It is the closest to mercy he will offer. He will claim him and take him away when the time is right, but he enjoys the false sense of hope first. The cops tear through, unloading bullets into the common haunted like it's nothing.They put up a fight, which is at least noteable. Though initially brushed off he quickly gains a new interest as they continue to survive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Joseph was emotional, already trodden down with the weight of his job and the world. Desperate and codependant on his partner, formidable if he applied himself but too willing to give in. He would enjoy turning him into a monster. Kidman was a wolf in sheep's clothing, a member of Mobius hiding behind the title of rookie. Too confident in her use of a gun to be as inexperienced as she claimed. He didn't care for her much, she was bland as far as character goes(he had seen plenty of steel faced 'willing to do anything to stop him' characters before, honestly he found the trope boring at this point.), but he would still happily have her suffer. Sebastian was weathered, bitter, and ultimately unphased by STEM, or as much as one could be. He tore through his world guns blazing, leaving carnage and death in his wake. One could easily mistake him for a typical weathered cop, yet Ruvik found himself intrigued. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sebastian was heartbroken, bitter, and lonely. After the death of his daughter and the disappearance of his wife he shut himself off. Turned to a bottle and anger to reject the pain of what was more complex. Ruvik expected men such as this to succumb easily, but instead he found a new life. Some repressed spark deep within him came forward and began to thrive in this world. Ruvik understood how that felt, he had abandoned any hint of morality he ever had(as minimal as that was) without question to thrive here, and Sebastian seemed to be falling into the same path. They were similar in very few ways, but enough that he took notice. He always picked favourites with his subjects, but that was never a good thing for the preferred in question. Sebastian would soon receive special treatment, in the form of Ruvik's worst monsters and landscapes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Observing Sebastian he finds himself noting how utterly alive he looks. The draw of a gun, muscles tense and precise, eyes narrowed and lips a hard line. Firing, perfection, rarely missing its mark. Sprinting down the hall, confident in every step, turning to fire a round or two in the skulls of monsters that get too close to his heels. The subtle quirk of his lips as The Sadist crumbles in a bloody heap, back of his hand drawn back over his lips to draw away blood that was not his own. Sebastian was a killing machine, and so utterly living that Ruvik couldn't help but watch. Despite his brutal lifestyle in STEM it was easy to see how soft he was below the surface, in the ways he gently held Joseph's shoulders and always reaffirmed he was okay in their every reunion. Worry buzzed bright in his eyes even when it did not reach his mouth. He fought harder than ever in these moments, eager to keep his last few precious ties to reality safe. Yet even he couldn't say anything meaningful when Joseph heavily implies his suicidal tendencies and lack of a will to fight. Such a magnificent specimen, yet flawed. Ruvik finds that it makes him perfect. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He continues to blaze through, tearing Ruvik's world to pieces. It's nothing that he can't fix with a simple wave of his hand, so he finds the challenge inviting. It's refreshing to be handed such a thing, something he can't defeat without some level of effort. He grows excited, his impending escape alongside his most challenging subject stacked on each other leaving him absolutely buzzing. He hadn't felt this good in years. He really should thank Sebastian, though he doubted he would understand. The man was too focussed on killing monsters anyways.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ruvik appears a few times, the distant all powerful ghost of this world. The reminder that hope is meaningless here. Sebastian knew to keep his distance, recognizing him to be the god even he could not take down. Sebastian surrendering to him was utterly inspiring, and Ruvik finds that he enjoys the power. He always had enjoyed holding it over others, but faced with it in Sebastian he finds it far more satisfying. So much so that he pretends like he isn't aware of him hiding in cupboards and wardrobes in his own home. This was his world, he knew where everyone was at all times-Especially in his own mansion. It was nearly endearing, watching Sebastian hide away like a child does with a threat of the boogeyman. Only Ruvik was incredibly real, and Sebastian was the farthest from an innocent child one could get.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Distantly Ruvik was aware of all life in his mind, feels the distant itch as subjects die, a small sting in his gut when a monster of his creation falls. It's practically nothing, so he pays it no heed. When Laura dies he is floored, like Sebastian had personally sucker punched him and forced the air from his lungs. It feels as if he's been filled with acid, he burns with agony from head to toe, and it's a new, sickly, internal burn. It's unforgivable, and his mind screams to rip Sebastian apart. He very nearly does, appearing in a fit of rage and tearing the false sense of security Sebastian hides behind. He disappears before he can do something rash, recounts his thoughts and emotions. The pain of Amalgam falling is nothing if not expected, and he hardly flinches. It had come after the distinct snapping Jiminez's death anyways, and he was finding there was more to celebrate than to mourn.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite how impressive he finds Sebastian, the man plays directly into his hand anyways. It was as simple as playing the piano really, following sheet music and pressing the right keys in tandem. Really, one could be compared to worse things, and Ruvik has always adored the piano. Sebastian should feel honoured despite being so utterly played. He faces him in the fallout, armed with machine guns and rocket launchers against the rebirthed Amalgam, piloted directly by himself. He's foolish enough to believe it. That facing Ruvik like this he had won, that Ruvik would reduce himself to the image of another snapping feral monster before being defeated. No, he was a monster of another kind. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The air he breathes is crisp and fresh, and there is no greater joy than the lack of burns across his body. Oxygen pumps into his lungs without a fight, his skin doesn't hurt. The only downside is that he is aware of a distant pain of hunger, but that is preferable to all that prefaced the current experience. He is a ghost inhabiting a stolen body, but he has never felt more alive. He wonders if Sebastian see's it, how alive he is, when their eyes meet, for a split second by the gates. Before he is gone from sight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sebastian probably hoped he was gone for good, that he would never see him again. That he was free to mourn and succumb to the bottle and drag of a cigarette once more. But he would always haunt Sebastian, subconsciously or consciously it didn't matter. He was his out here as much as he was in STEM. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I bought the TEW comics and the first one is... Dissapointing-But I have TEW prompts to get through so I'll just look away.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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